Ever wondered what a dead star looks like? Then have a gander at the image above — you're looking at "Kepler's Supernova". First spotted 410 years ago today, it's the most recent supernova to have been observed without sky-gazing equipment within our own galaxy.

Space is expansive: looking up to the stars, it can sometimes feel like everything sits on a single, two-dimensional sheet held up above us. It doesn't, of course—so how do we measure how far away things are?

Millions of years ago it may've paid to not get too close to Camarasaurus—but now, scientists have used computing power to create an incredibly detailed model of its skull and muscles for you to inspect.

The Phantom Menace has approximately one good scene: the bit where people race through canyons at high speed while people shoot at them. Although reality might not quite be up to jet engines and high-powered rifles quite yet, a group of quadrotor hobbyists have managed to replicate the first-person thrill of racing a dense obstacle course at high speed.

Finding forest fires when they're big is relatively easy — you can see them from space. Or, y'know, just follow the burning smell. But if firefighters can identify a burn when it's just started, it's obviously far easier to nip in the bud. Sounds like a job for our old friend Mr Drone.

Astronaut Reid Wiseman captured this sequence of the Dragon spaceship "breathing fire as it rendezvoused with [the International Space Station] last week." The spacecraft was firing its thrusters to adjust its course. The original video was quite shaky, so I stabilized it for your GIFing pleasure.

One of the most useful things you can possibly have if you're up the metaphorical creek after dark is a source of illumination: finding firewood (or just not falling over a cliff) is much easier if you can see what you're doing. That's why this survival kit, which packs supplies into the body of a flashlight, could be decent investment.

The new, all-wheel-drive 2015 Tesla Model S P85D accelerates to 60mph faster than a Ferrari 458 and pulls more Gs in a corner than a Ford Mustang. Not bad for a car that's also more efficient than its predecessor. Read more in Jalopnik's exclusive ride along.

Musk concedes that "the internet is very good at figuring out secrets." So yes, the D in P85D stands for "dual" motor. And yes, it's the same system coming to the all-wheel-drive Model X. But here's what we didn't expect: 687 lb-ft of torque and a 0-60 MPH run of 3.2 seconds – a full second quicker than the standard P85. Oh, and 1g of lateral acceleration.

The "something else" at tonight's Tesla event is Auto Pilot, a new system that combines a forward facing camera and 12 sensors that see 16 feet in every direction and provide a 360-degree view the surroundings. The camera does everything from seeing other cars to reading speed limit signs. Normal fare for luxury cars. Except it will also do a lane change for you just by pressing the turn signal stalk.

I'm glad the History Channel is producing mockumentaries like The Great Martian War. The real documentaries are not much different and science-fiction alternative history lines are always more interesting than our savage and grim historical realities. It's also very well made.

Tesla's unveiling the third part in its electric-vehicle triolgy tonight in LA, but before the event's actually kicked off, a leaked USA Today article (now retracted, but Google cache version here) seems to have blown the lid off the car's shiny new features. While the AWD dual-motor setup might grab most of the headlines, the Model D has some new intelligent technology that should make life on the highway pretty easy (and safe!) indeed.

Apple's already been clear that it wants its upcoming timepiece to be something that you're not ashamed to wear. But in case displaying it at the Paris Fashion Week wasn't clear enough, Apple's PR people have gone ahead and put the Apple Watch front and center — quite literally — on the November issue of Vogue China.

Sure, a charcoal grill or a barbecue pit can roast some delicious meat but if you want to up the insane level, I'm not sure anything can top this: a wall of fire made from 30 steel drums welded together. It's like barbecuing with dragon fire or a volcano or a never ending bomb explosion. And it looks awesome.

Sure raising a kid or joining the Peace Corp can be rewarding too but before you do that, maybe try something a little more challenging, like making a chair by hand. Chad Parkinson of The Furniture Joint works with wood for a living and this glimpse of him making a chair is absolutely gorgeous.